The Lagos State police command yesterday announced it has arrested one of the cult leaders it said had been terrorizing the Oworonsoki and Bariga areas of the metropolis.
The suspect, identified as Diri Oyelesi, 20, was arrested by detectives from the Anti-Cultism unit of the command.
The police said that Oyelesi had confessed to cultism and involvement in the murder of some rival cult gang members in Oworonsoki.
The police said they nabbed the suspect when the Anti-Cultism squad, led by its commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Uduak Edom, acting on a tip-off, stormed the hideout of a secret cult group, the Eiye confraternity, in Oworonsoki.
Oyelesi was said to have confessed that he killed his first victim, a member of another cult group, for his role in the death of his (Oyelesi’s) brother.
The police quoted the suspect as lamenting that since he joined the Eiye cult in 2014, he had not benefited anything meaningful, but had rather been more involved in crime, rape, killings, robbery and drugs at the expense of his trade as a barber.
“Though my late brother and I belonged to different cult gangs, I vowed to avenge his killing. Having resolved to eliminate those behind my brother’s death, I was able to collate the names of those involved in six weeks.
“The second stage was planning how to carry out the attack. I set out to monitor their movements. One day, I was able to corner one of them along one of the lonely streets in the area. Before he realised what was happening, I shot him from close range.
“He fell down and made an attempt to stand up but before he could do that, I was on him. I asked him to name other gang members who participated in the attack on my brother. He initially refused, but after I inflicted pains on him, he gave me other names that were not on my list. Before he could shout out for help, I finished him off with another shot,” the suspect added.
